At first glance there may not seem to be a direct link between fly-fishing and making music.
One is described as a ‘contemplative man’s recreation’ and the other an artistic expression put out into the world.
For husband and wife musical duo and fly-fishing instructors Jim and Lynda McLennan, there is definitely a connection between the two.
“They are both really fascinating and you can study and examine both of them forever. There is no time in either of those things where you know everything,” said Jim. “They can both occupy all of your attention when you’re involved in them. There is really no room for anything else in your mind while your on the stream fishing or when your playing music. I think that is healthy to find something you can really concentrate on that are both for pleasure but both are really interesting things.”
Jim and Lynda were married in 1977, introduced through a mutual friend, and both share a love for teaching and music.
Lynda has a bachelor of music degree and taught high school music for many years. Jim has been playing finger style guitar since the ‘70s and was even featured in Guitar Player magazine. He also regularly instructs guitar at Foothills Acoustic Music Institute’s music camps.
But Jim said over the last four years they have concentrated a lot more on making music together.
He said he wanted to continue to perform live, but realized that it was pretty hard for an audience to listen to a whole evening of only instrumental guitar. He asked Lynda to sing with him, describing his wife’s voice as ‘really something special’.
“I think it is a great thing. She has really good musical ideas and it’s really good that we can kind of put our musical brains together on projects and think about what we can do to this tune, what we can do to that tune,” he said.
One of those projects was the duo’s 2014 album Dancing On Air featuring Lynda’s voice and Jim’s guitar. The album was recorded at their friend’s studio in Pincher Creek, and Jim said they enjoyed the pace of the process, travelling down from their home just west of Longview, Alta. and recording a few songs a time.
“I do like recording. It is another creative thing and it is fun to do and fun to see what a song becomes once you decide to record it. It will sometimes change a little bit in ways you weren’t expecting,” he said.
The sound of the duo is hard to categorize, according to Jim, who described them as taking traditional songs from genres such as jazz or R&B and ‘folkifying’ them.
“There is nothing that we won’t consider, as long as we consider it to be a really strong song,” explained Jim. “The common thread is that it is an original arrangements and interpretation of some great tunes.”
You can catch Jim and Lynda McLennan at Legacy Guitar and Coffee House Feb. 21.
